Latinos and Asians account for most of state growth between 2000 and 2010

Cities in North County added 76,752 people between 2000 and 2010
and saw continuing increases in the number of Latino residents, the
U.S. Census Bureau reported Tuesday.

The population growth was led by San Marcos, which added 28,804
residents, a 52 percent growth rate in the past 10 years. San
Marcos was home to 83,781 in 2010.

Oceanside remains North County's largest city, growing from
161,029 in 2000 to 167,086 in 2010.

Carlsbad saw the third highest percentage rate of growth ---- 35
percent ---- adding 27,081 residents since 2000, giving the coastal
city a population of 105,328.

Vista was home to 93,834 people last year; Del Mar, 4,161;
Encinitas, 59,518; Poway, 47,811; and Solana Beach, 12,867.

"There is a clear continuance in suburbanization," said
demographer John Weeks, a San Diego State University geography
professor. "We are seeing more growth in the inland areas up and
down Interstate 15 and 805."

The unincorporated area, which includes Fallbrook, Bonsall,
Rainbow, Valley Center, and Ramona, grew by 43,685 countywide to
486,604.

The county's growth rate in the past decade was 10 percent, the
slowest on record and reflective of the trend statewide.
Nonetheless, San Diego County climbed from California's third most
populous county in 2000 to its second most populous, with 3,095,313
people in 2010, according to the figures.

Latinos

The county's Latino population rose from 750,965 to 991,348 over
the past decade, from 27 percent in 2000 to 32 percent in 2010.

Whites accounted for less than half the population, at 48
percent in 2010 compared with 55 percent in 2000, according to the
figures.

"The decline in the non-Hispanic white population is
historically unprecedented and suggests outmigration, largely for
economic purposes," said Weeks. "At the same time, there's a
continued migration from Mexico, the Philippines and a rise in the
number of children of immigrants."

Asians make up 11 percent of the county compared with 9 percent
in 2000; blacks 5 percent, with no percentage change in the last
decade; and American Indians, less than 1 percent.

In raw numbers, there were 48,786 fewer whites, 7,887 fewer
blacks and 1,155 fewer Indians in 2010 compared with 2000,
according to the data.

"Those numbers actually fell, and we didn't see that coming,"
said Beth Jarosz, a demographer with the San Diego Association of
Governments, the region's primary planning agency.

The agency uses the census figures to shape development and
transportation policies countywide. The counts also will be used to
redraw district boundaries for members of Congress, members of the
state Legislature and county supervisors.

Latinos are growing faster than other groups, demographers say,
because most Latinos are of child-bearing age, while the rest of
the population tends to be older.

San Diego County's overall growth of 10 percent mirrored that of
the state, which also grew by 10 percent, rising from 33,871,648
people in California in 2000 to 37,253,956 in 2010, an increase of
3,382,308.

Riverside County to the north swelled its ranks by nearly 42
percent, or 644,254 people in the 10-year period. That makes
Riverside the state's fourth most populous county, with 2,189,641
residents.

Asians and Latinos make up virtually all of California's
population growth. Latinos grew by 28 percent and Asians grew by 31
percent.

Latinos compose 49 percent, or 70,326 people, of Escondido's
143,911 residents, the highest such percentage of any North County
city.

Latinos made up 48 percent of Vista's population, 37 percent of
San Marcos and 36 percent of Oceanside.

The two North County cities with the lowest Latino population
were the comparatively upscale Carlsbad with 13 percent and Del Mar
with just 4 percent.

Slower growth

Overall growth in California lagged other Western states,
leaving the state without any additional congressional seats for
the first time after a census.

The figures show San Diego County grew by 10 percent, a rate far
less than any other 10-year period in more than a century, Jarosz
said.

"In the late 1800s and early 1900s, we would almost double our
population decade over decade, but the economy and lower
in-migration really slowed down in the last decade," she said.

That slowdown was suggested in the 2000 Census, showing San
Diego County did not grow as fast as the nation and the state as a
whole between censuses. It signaled a slow-growth trend that
demographers said could last well into this century.

Before 2000, the last time that happened, William McKinley was
president and the country was reeling from a recession triggered by
a cattle-ranching industry collapse.

The recessionary economy that dominated the past two years is
also reflected in the county's housing vacancy, which jumped from
4.4 percent in 2000 to 6.7 percent, or a total of about 30,000
dwellings in 2010.

Builders added a little more than 124,000 new homes in the same
period.

To the south, the cities of San Diego and Chula Vista also are
growing.

San Diego grew slower than the county rate, however, at nearly 7
percent, with 84,002 more residents than recorded in 2000, giving
it a 2010 population of 1,307,402.